Importance of Social Media Marketing

Many people want to promote their business via social media? Why? It has various benefits to begin with. Thanks to the number of channels, social media helps reach out to lot of people at once, leads to better search engine rankings, everybody can use social media...there are no barriers, helps one get closer to customers and respond to their needs, increases brand awareness, influences brand reputation, generates leads, and increases sales online among others. Here's a look at some of the social media tools:

Blogs provide an excellent platform to voice one's thoughts and opinions on everything under the sun. Great that people can now listen to what you say, counter it and also give feedback and suggestions. Many bloggers today post just a blog post or two and then promote it actively on other social media channels. Posting a link of your blog post on Twitter and Facebook lets many people read it who otherwise wouldn't have. This is because, most of us like to spend time on Facebook rather than look for content elsewhere. It also helps to get the much needed traffic for your blog.

Social media helps your content to be published in various channels. Bookmarking content, videos, and images on Stumbleupon, Digg, Delicious, and Diigo gets you the desired traffic. The more people bookmark the particular link, the more it is read and trusted. Having a presence in social networking sites such as Facebook help to engage with customers directly (which can be debated) - Giving announcements of product offerings, upcoming deals, and having a fan base that signifies the strength and value of the brand. Microblogging sites such as Twitter lets one 'tweet' their thoughts in 140 characters or less. It lets one articulate content in fewer words thus reaching the goal of people reading or viewing your tweet.

Video and photo sharing sites such as Youtube, Flickr, Photbucket are an audio-visual medium, making the content more interesting and enjoyable. But it is more of a one-way conversation. This depends on the strength of the video or image. For instance, a Michael Jackson video has great chances of having comments that lead to a conversation. Professional networking sites such as LinkedIn help to reach a network of professionals in your domain leading to valuable discussions and exchange of information. Also your queries are answered with genuine people from the field, leading to knowledge sharing.

There are many more like forums, QnA sites, document sharing sites etc. In short, social media marketing is the new age marketing. It helps small businesses see the light of the day and lets the already established ones have a stronger foothold. It's not as easy as it sounds. It is a gradual process and needs expertise and patience if you want to see the fruits of your results.

Social Media and consumer behavior

Consumers are influenced by the Lux ad featuring AbhiAsh, which leads to an action. That is, it urges many of the girls to run to the supermarket down the lane and get their hands on the new Lux. Why? Recall value is greater with television being a visual medium and Lux and Aishwarya go a long way, making it easier for consumers to associate with the brand. This is not surprising for a brand which is a household name in India. There are certain products that consumers seek information about and want much more than a commercial featuring a top ambassador. Many top brands are now using social media to reach out to customers directly leading to greater exchange of information over the internet. For instance, top brands have a presence on the microblogging site Twitter. Tony Hsieh the chief executive of the online shoe store Zappos shares details of his life with 7,200 “followers”. Things he does – gives away a pair of Zappos shoes to his followers, rewards one new Twitter follower a trip to Las vegas for two to visit Zappos HQ and a lunch with the man himself.

Social media tools impact purchase decisions but do they result in purchase behavior? Consumers do use the company website to learn about the products and services that it has to offer. With the onset of social media, brands are now using this opportunity to talk to customers more often. This is still at an initial stage in India but not so in United States where social media is a major part of their life. Study shows that 70% of consumers in U.S. have used social media websites and nearly 49% made a purchase decision based on the information gathered. Social media enables to exchange information with a brand representative which gives value and credibility.

The best example of a brand using the social media as a platform to connect with customers in India is 'Sunsilk Gang of Girls'. Members here discuss hair care, career, entertainment, celebrity chats... The videos of Vodafone's ZooZoo ad campaign received more than a million views in the first two weeks of its launch.

Social media experts believe it is more than just a fad. Companies are already setting up research departments to study consumer actions. With enormous amount of data available, researchers are studying patterns of human interaction in virtual space to predict what they will buy or use.

Source: Gauravnomics
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Social Media adoption by Indian businesses

Rajesh Lalwani, the Managing Director of Scenario Consulting Private Limited, in an interview talks about the current state of Indian businesses and its move towards social media. (Have used the points from his interview with due permission) Also check his popular blog at 'Rajesh @ Blogworks'.

Indian businesses prefer mainstream media and do not want to take the risk of testing the waters of Social Media. Why? Traditional media tools such as the print media (newspapers, magazines), and electronic media (T.V. Radio) have greater reach. They reach out to many people at once which help to establish the message that the sender (the businesses) wants to deliver. The chances of recall are higher which adds to the overall image of the brand. How many of you remember the full page ad of the new Yahoo! In 'The Times of India'? And how many remember the pop up ad in any website you last visited? The chances are very less or bleak... On one hand we have the urge to do new things and follow the social media strategies adopted by a Dell or Satrbucks. On the other hand, we need to fight our biggest hurdle – Internet penetration. The current penetration is only 5-7%

Social media, is an engagement tool which involves building conversations/collaborations and understanding what people are saying. In India, social media has been used as a tool to engage with the employees. Most businesses maintain their own blog which helps them reach out to customers. This builds a relationship of trust. Customers know you as a company and can relate to what you say. And then there are social media channels such as social networking sites (Facebook, Orkut, Friendster), professional networking sites (LinkedIn) , microblogging sites such as Twitter, video sharing sites (Youtube) etc which brands are using to reach out to more customers. This is a gradual process and the results happen only over a period of time. These channels help to get feedback instantly and many brands have used this as an opportunity that brings about the co-creation of a product.

Helping clients plan and choose a social media strategy is vital. It's not about letting clients have a presence on say Twitter but it is about Twitter adding value to the business of a client. India has about 350 million mobile connections. The best way to use this is to make it internet-friendly. There will be a sea change in the way businesses operate and use social media. Brands will engage with customers directly, resolve customer queries and complaints, will take in feedback and suggestions among others.
Companies must prove that the implementation of social media has had a significant impact on the company's growth as a whole.

Source: Digital Media Across Asia

Social Media = Interaction

The heading says it all doesn't it? The Social Media concept survives on that high level of interaction. You are never alone with social media. Its like the different kinds of light that changes the shape of you're shadow. Conversation is what we look for. Why? To share experience and to learn from the experienced.

Creativity, imagination and taking a step back to understand what YOU as a human being can give to others is what people look for in the whole journey of life. What better way than the social media channel. Its how you look at things at the end of the day.